10 Unusual Jobs a Photographer Could Get

As many of us know, photography is not the easiest profession to break into and sometimes oddball jobs are a necessity to get any type of work. So with the inevitability of up and coming photographers taking any type of job, ResourceMagazine has put together a list of ten of the most unusual jobs that any photographer could get.

10 Unusual Jobs a Photographer Could Get

1 – Funeral Photographer

Funeral photographers, which more and more funeral homes are supplying, are in extremely high demand at the moment. While this overall job seems creepy—benefiting off the death of a family’s loved one—I guess families want to remember the time that they were catatonic over a recent loss. And though I am quick to judge this seemingly odd job, famous funeral photographer Rachel Wallace claims that the photographs are “a great comfort to the bereaved, to have these precious last moments recorded.”

2 – Hurricane/Storm Chasers Photographers

Moving on to something that is a bit livelier, yet still incredibly morbid, storm chasing is probably the most interesting job on this list. Now, it is not surprising that many believe that storm chasers are simply thrill seekers profiting off of people’s fear of mother nature; however, if you are fascinated by the weather and want to see the world, what is better than this incredibly ‘off the wall’ profession.

3 – Pet Photographers

Now pets may seem adorable in professional photos or commercials, however, there is some truth behind the old saying, ‘never work with kids or animals.’ Perhaps, some animals are trained by fantastic owners, but most of the time pets are going to be a pain to photograph. Again, some pets are wonderful, but think of how annoying an unresponsive dog or cat can be. Therefore, this unusual job, which pays good money, could be a nuisance to complete.

4 – Dental Photography

Dental photography is a growing profession that has exploded into mainstream society. While most of the gigs would not be as commercial as the above photo, dentists are starting to hire trained professionals to photograph patients’ teeth. Anybody can receive training from anyone of these courses taught throughout the country: even places like Pro Photo Supply are offering camera attachments known as Dental Kits for dental photographers.

5 –Crime Scene Photographer

We have talked at lengths about world-famous photographer Weegee and his crime scene photographs; while that rogue style of picture taking is a product of yesteryear, it is still fairly easy to break into the crime scene photography game. Yes, I am sure certain news organizations will pay good money for high value crime scene photos, but the other option could be forensic photography. In fact, a crime scene investigator could be the best way to incorporate your artistic talents into an everyday job.

6 – Theme Park Photographer

Theme park photography is probably one of the better jobs on this list; if you are lucky to find this job then you could spend countless hours photographing the country’s best amusement parks and their guests. The best example of this would be Disney’s portrait photographers who take pictures of guests in prime Disney Park locations, like in front of the world famous castle in Magic Kingdom.

7 – Insurance Claims Photographer

A job that used to be handled by insurance claim adjusters, insurance photography is starting to be outsourced to independent photographers: or at least people who can properly capture every aspect of a particular accident. And though you will be hated as much as an IRS agent, insurance claims photography could lead to consistent work with good pay.

8 – Abandoned/Creepy Buildings

Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, one has to admit abandoned/creepy buildings are the least enticing subject for a scared photographer. In fact, an overused horror film cliché is the over-eager photographer/journalist going into an abandoned building. With that said, though it is an unusual job, abandoned buildings could lead to some of the most surreal images: so much so, that pictures like the above will leave viewers with more questions than answers.

9 – Most Craigslist Advertisements

No matter how much CraigsList attempts to clean up their image, the site still has some of the most peculiar advertisements ever. One of my personal favorites, which also happens to be a shining example of a photographer’s worst nightmare, is an ad to help create a ‘Pop Tarts Mural.’ Perhaps, this is a fake ad done by a person with too much time on their hands, however, this perfectly displays the drawbacks of looking for work on CraigsList: you will find weird people asking you to do weird things.

10 – Family Portrait Photographer

While the idea behind the job is not unusual, sometimes the people you have to work with could be quite peculiar. Take for instance, the Awkward Family Photos website, which highlights countless peculiar people in odd clothing and poses. Imagine walking into a situation where you have to photograph an entire family wearing the same clothing or a clan of people who make The Hills Have Eyes folks look tame. It certainly does not appear to be enticing.